USO Canteen FReeper Style~Continuation of Ancient Greek Military~December 9, 2003

ANCIENT WARFARE

Part III: Ancient Greek Military:

Battle of Salamis 480 BC
Battle of Thermopylae 480 BC
Battle of Plataea 479 BC

The battle of Salamis, 480 BC.

After the first Persian wars an exceptional rich vein was discovered in the Attic silver mines of Laurium. This gave new opportunities for Athens. One group led by Aristides wanted the profits to be spread out over the population, as it was normal in those days, others who were led by Themistocles wanted something different. He was the only one who had correctly understood the message of the oracle of Delphi that Athens should be protected by a wooden wall: he debated that Athens should built a fleet of 200 triremes. He pointed out to the Athenians that a strong navy was crucial in their conflict with Aegina. Probably he realized that there was also the danger of a new Persian invasion, but he wisely did not mention this as it seemed far from likely at that time in the eyes of most people. This decision made Athens at once the biggest naval force in Hellas.

The forces.

The Battle at Salamis, 480 B.C.
Persians	Greeks
Fleet
100-120 Phoenicia 75-90 Egypt 100 Ionian Greeks 50 Cyprus 20 Lycia 25 Karia 30 Cilicia 50 Others	150 Athens 30 Aegina 20 Megara 50 Peloponesse 40 Corinth 20 Others
Total
450-485 Triremes	310 Triremes

The Persians realized that the only serious threat left was the Greek fleet. The Isthmus was an impressive defensive line but the Greeks were so outnumbered that it was only a matter of time before the last Greek army was destroyed the Persians reasoned. And without the Greek fleet to support them the Greek armies at land would definitely form no problem for the huge Persian army. A decisive sea-battle was needed Xerxes decided.

We know that the Persians did not have a standing fleet themselves. Until now they had mostly fought in Asia Minor, and a fleet was never needed. The Persians had focused on their land armies and neglected their seamanship. Luckily for them had they subjected the Phoenicians. These people were excellent sailors and had the knowledge to built vast vessels who could oppose the Greek triremes. The Persian fleet mostly consisted of Phoenician ships, but strangely enough they also used Asiatic Greek ships and sailors. They must have doubted the motivation of these troops to fight other Greeks, but they were used nevertheless. Maybe the real reason was that Xerxes thought that it was saver to take them with him instead of leaving them in Asia Minor. It was certainly not unlikely that the Greek colonies in Asia Minor would revolt once more when he was fighting in Hellas. Now he prevented this from happening, and he made sure that the Greeks did fight by holding their political leaders hostage in Asia Minor.

The Greek fleet consisted of 310 ships. All fine forces in Greek terms, but puny in the face of the fleet Xerxes had collected from all his empire. Athens, as strongest naval force in Hellas, was specialized in using the battering-ram while the Peloponessian fleet more relied on their infantry on the ships. The Greek ships were more maneuverable than the Persian ones as they did not have a high stern-post like the Phoenicians did. The benefit of a high stern-post was that archers could attack the oarsmen before the ships hit each other, but it also made the ship slower, more difficult to maneuver and less stable.

The commanders.

The Persians were still commanded by Xerxes. The Greek fleet was in the hands of Themistocles who had so successfully led the navy during the battle at Artemisium. This Athenian man was very rebellious in his youth but eventually he chose for a career in politics were his natural slyness was the most useful. Just like Miltiades before him he had complete confidence in his own judgment, and this way he managed to gain the trust of others. There was another resemblance with Miltiades: he was not the official commander during the battle, but he certainly was the architect of it.

Phase one: diplomacy and blackmail.

The citizens of Athens were determined to get revenge for the destruction of their loved city. Their allies had lost faith in a good ending of the war after the victories of the Persian army. The Spartans wanted to retreat to their Isthmus and let the navy fight on the open sea besides the Isthmus. It was Themistocles who was the only one who realized that the navy should not fight on open sea, but in the narrow strait of Salamis where it had retreated to. The battle of Artemisium had learnt him a valuable lesson: the Persian numbers would not count in a narrow strait, but they would count against them.

Themistocles' problems were to persuade his allies that this was what they had to do, and persuade the Persians that that was what they wanted to do. The problem of Sparta was quickly solved when he threatened that Athens would sail of with its navy and found a new city in the west if Sparta still demanded to fight on the Isthmus. Convincing the Persians to enter the strait of Salamis was more difficult, but Themistocles solved this in a genius way. He sent his best slave to Xerxes to tell him that the Greek navy was retreating to the Isthmus of Corinth to form a combined force with the army. This message sounded so reasonable to Xerxes that he ordered the Egyptian squadron of his fleet to block the strait of Megara. The remaining Persian ships stopped at the island of Psyttaleia and blocked the entrance to the strait of Salamis: the Greek fleet can not escape.

Phase two: the confusion of the narrows.

To give Xerxes the impression that they were actually retreating to Corinth Themistocles sent the Corinthian squadron of his fleet to the north at dawn. Their second goal was to make sure that the Egyptian squadron would not attack the Greeks in the rear in the heat of the battle. The Corinthian vessels raised their sails, which was normally only done when fleeing, to convince the Persians that victory was near. Little did Xerxes know that Themistocles kept a part of his fleet hidden in the bay of Ambelaki, while the main force was hidden behind the island Farmakoussai a little more to the north.

Xerxes commands his fleet to enter the strait in order to hunt down the fleeing Greek fleet. However, when the Persian fleet entered the strait the trap closed: the Aeginetans and Megarians rushed out of the bay of Ambelaki and attacked the Ionian ships which formed the rear of the Persian fleet. The battle begins when the stern of a Phoenician ship is ripped off the rest of the ship. The Greek main force suddenly appeared on the battlefield and the confusion among the Persians only increased.
The heavier Persian ships are no party for the fast and trained Greek triremes. On top of that changed the weather and the slow Persian ships lost even more speed and maneuverability in the rough water. The Phoenician battle-array fell apart when their admiral got killed, and the Persian fleet flees to the south chased by the Greek main force. As they pass the bay of Ambelaki, where the Ionian part of the Persian fleet was fighting the Aeginetans and Megarians, the Greeks end their chase and attack the Ionian ships in their back. They were no party for the Greeks and most ships got destroyed. The survivors struggled out of the narrows while they were hunted down by the Greeks until they reached Psyttaleai. The Persian garrison on the island got defeated by soldiers of the Greek navy while the Corinthian ships had managed to stop the Egyptian squadron that was encircling Salamis.

The results of the battle.

The Persians had lost 200 ships, while the Greeks only lost 40 triremes. There was more than enough reason for celebration on Salamis that night, and there was cause for celebration on Sicily as well where the Syrcusans had crushed the Carthagian advance at Himera. Themistocles had broken Xerxes' fleet and his nerve. Disillusioned he went back to Persia with a large part of his army, but the rest remained in Hellas. Xerxes' retreat can be seen as an cowardly act, but you must realize that the Persian kings normally made the decisive blows and let the rest to their generals. The battle of Salamis was definitely not the final blow as Xerxes had hoped, but the Persians could afford the losses much easier than the Greeks. Xerxes left a huge army under the command of Mardonius behind, and gave him the order to conquer the rest of Hellas. Hellas was still not safe...

The battle of Thermopylae, 480 BC.

Darius died in 486 BC and had managed to punish the city Eretria for its role in the revolt of the Ionian Greek colonies, but Athens was still a thorn in his side. In fact, now there were even more reasons to destroy Athens. He already had started making new plans, but the goal of the mission would not be the sole destruction of Athens. Hellas had humiliated him, and with him the Persian empire so it had to be totally conquered. However, because of his unexpected death it was up to his son Xerxes to fulfill his plans.

Xerxes remembered very well what happened to the first expedition of his father: the fleet got destroyed during a storm at Athos and the army got stuck in a guerrilla with nomadic tribes in Thrace. He did not have to worry about Thrace as it was now part of the Persian empire, but the peninsula of Athos was always a dangerous place for a fleet. To make sure that everything would go according the plan he ordered his troops to dig a canal through Athos. This took them three years and at the same time he built a bridge over the Hellespont. The navy, drawn principally from Phoenicia and the subject Greek states in Asia Minor, accompanied the army along the coast of Thrace while it looked for a river that it would not drink dry. Herodotus tells us that the army consisted of 1750000 soldiers, but this number is absurd: 200000 might be nearer to the mark. The astonishing number of 1200 triremes formed the fleet.

At the same time Carthage invaded Sicily to prevent that the Greek colonies on this island would offer any help to Hellas. But Greek attempts to find help at any distance had already failed: Crete, Corcyra and Syracuse refused. In the north only Athens, Phocis, Thespiae and Plataea were prepared to fight, while Argos remained neutral in the Peloponesse. The 'Greeks who had the best thoughts for Greece', as Herodotus wrote, assembled at Sparta in 481 and later at Corinth in the spring of 480. The commercial island Aegina and Athens resolved their problems and an alliance under the leadership of Sparta was formed between the handful of cities.

It was obvious that the natural aspects of Hellas had to be used as much as possible in order to defeat the Persian army. The plan was to trap the army in a mountain-pass where its numeric advantage was of no use at all. Then maybe the fleet could also be trapped in a sea-strait where the maneuverable trireme had an advantage over the slow Persian vessels. Once the Persian fleet was destroyed, or spread out, it was not unlikely that army would be cut off from all supplies and forced either to retreat or to starve. The first choice was the Gorge of Tempe where the coast road to the south turns into north-western Thessaly, and a force of 10000 was sent to hold it. However, the Gorge of Tempe looked not very suitable as first line of defenses after closer examination because of its geographic vulnerability and the fact that the Aleuadae, one of the leading families in Thessaly, was possibly in favor of Xerxes. The Greeks retired south and northern Hellas was left to the Persians.

Two possible defensive lines remained: the narrow coastal pass of Thermopylae with the fleet in the adjacent north-Euboean strait, or at the Isthmus with the fleet a little to the north at Salamis. Athens was of course in favor of Thermopylae as retreating to the Isthmus meant leaving Athens to the Persian army. Sparta on the other hand wanted to retreat to the Isthmus in the Peloponesse because of the natural Peloponessian reluctance to fight for anything but their own. Athens was preparing for the worst scenario possible: a recently found tablet proves that Themistocles prepared plans for a decent evacuation of Athens. The final choice fell on Thermopylae nevertheless.

The commanders.

The Persian empire was in the hands of the son of Darius: Xerxes. Just like his father, and most of the high kings of Persia, was he a most excellent organizer but not a good general. The increased motivation of his troops when he was present at a battle was often diminished by his tactics. Darius had always been a strict and determined man, but Xerxes had moments that his bad temper made him make the wrong decisions. We know that he constructed a bridge over the Hellespont so that his army could cross it without any problems. The first attempt was destroyed during a storm, and Xerxes ordered his men to whip the waves to show his men that even the Gods of the waters were subjected to them. This shows us some of the nature of Xerxes.

Leonidas, one of the two Spartan kings, was the commander of the Greek force in the pass of Thermopylae. His actions during this battle are still seen as one of the biggest acts of heroism in the history of mankind. But he was not only a hero, he was most of all a capable and cautious commander. He was unselfish and very concerned with the men under his command: he knew that he would most likely get killed at Thermopylae and only accepted Spartans in his army who had a son who could take over the leadership of the family.

Phase one: the battle of Artemisium.

The Battle at Artemisium, 480 B.C.
Persians	Greeks
Triremes
1200	271

The fleet, primarily Athenian, had situated itself in the north-Euboean strait close to Artemisium and blocked it. Its purpose there was to support the army in the pass of Thermopylae, and to prevent that the Persians would attempt an attack from the sea on the Greek position in the mountains. Maybe they also hoped to test out their new triremes against the Persian fleet. The Persian army was primarily a land army: it did not even have a standing fleet. For its fleet was the Persian empire totally dependent on the subjected Phoenicians and other Asiatics. They also formed the core of the Persian fleet during this expedition and the Greeks knew that the Phoenicians had faster vessels than the Persians, and their seamanship was definitely superior to those of the native Persians. The Persian fleet was not only feared because of its size...

Storm had already wrecked many Persian ships on their way down and the Spartan Eurybiades and the Athenian Themistocles, who commanded the Greek fleet together, felt that they had a chance to stop the exhausted Persian fleet. However, the Persians were determined to break through the Greek blockade as otherwise their fleet could no longer sail up with the army along the coast. Xerxes decides to risk a frontal attack on 271 Greek triremes, even while he knew that the narrow strait diminished his numeric advantage. The serious naval engagements were indecisive, but even that was encouraging for the Greeks. The Persians had to retreat to open sea, and Xerxes was forced to sent a squadron of 200 triremes to encircle the island of Euboea and catch the Greeks in the rear. However, a furious storm destroyed most of these vessels. Like the famous historian Herodotus wrote: 'God thus doing his best to equalize the opposing forces'.

Phase two: the drama of Thermopylae.

The Battle at Thermopylae, 480 B.C.
Persians	Greeks
Infantry
200000	7000
Cavalry
20000	None

The hesitations of the Spartans throughout the Persian wars could have been disastrous, but now they finally showed what they were made off. Small expeditions had shown that an attack on the Persian army in the plains would equalize suicide, so their king Leonidas had chosen Thermopylae very well. During 2500 years this place has changed very much, but in 490 it was the only way to southern Hellas. Leonidas positioned 7000 hoplits in this small pass between the mountains and the sea, and 1000 to guard the most vulnerable branch road. The activities of the Greek fleet did not only split the Persian fleet from the Persian army, but it also prevented that Xerxes could land behind Thermopylae and attack this position in the rear. There was no other option for Xerxes left: he had to go through Thermopylae.

Xerxes ordered his corps d'elite, the 10000 Immortals, to attack the Greek stronghold. This elite unite was called the Immortals as before a battle people were assigned to immediately take in the place of a fallen person. This way the strength of the unit was always the same. Leonidas' men held out magnificently for two days against the best that Xerxes could sent at them, and they would have probably continued this for several more days if a traitor would not have shown the Persians an ill-guarded mountain track. The 1000 men who had to guard this path could not stop the sudden attack and were forced to retreat higher into the mountains. The Immortals could now move round on Leonidas' rear. When he heard of this he sent everybody home except his famed 300 Spartans and the men from Thespiae. The Thebans also stayed, but not because they wanted too: they were an insurance that Thebes would not collaborate to the Persians. All but the Thebans, who did surrender, fought and died. It was almost a victory.

The results of the battles.

The Persians could now march freely through the pass of Thermopylae and entered southern Hellas. The citizens of Athens had already been evacuated to the nearby island of Salamis when the Persians attacked Athens. The few defenders of Athens were all killed and the city was burnt down to the ground. However, two lessons had been learnt: that the Greek ships and sailors were adequate and the Greek hoplite was supreme. The problem was that the army had only one defensive line left: the Isthmus of Corinth. As a result of this was the independence of Hellas in the hands of the small fleet.

Leonidas left a young son, Pleistarchos, behind. This child became one of the two kings of Sparta, but a regent was assigned because of his age. This person was a cousin of Leonidas: Pausanias. He would play an important role in the last phase of the Persian wars.

The battle of Plataea, 479 BC.

The Persian fleet was stopped at Salamis, but the Persians still controlled northern Hellas. Xerxes had gone back to Persia, but he had left behind a huge army to control northern Hellas, and to destroy the last Greek armies. The situation did not look very hopeful for Hellas, and it became even worse when Boeotia decided that it was saver to collaborate with the Persians instead of fighting them. In face of this the unity of Salamis began to look a little hollow.

Again there was a disagreement between Athens and Sparta. Sparta believed that it was safe for the time being now the Persians did not have a fleet anymore to protect and provision them. That is why Sparta felt quite safe behind their Isthmus wall. Like always they were not in favor of an offensive war as they feared a revolt of their helots, but Athens insisted on an attack on the Persian army. Athens had a good reason for this: the Athenians wanted their homes back in security. It took a long winter of bitter argument before Athenian threats were effective. The Greeks formed an army and marched into Boeotia under the leadership of the Spartan Pausanias.

The commanders.

The Persians were no longer commanded by there high king Xerxes as he had returned to Persia: Mardonius was now in command. Mardonius was the son-in-law of the father of Xerxes, Darius, and was in command of the fleet that was destroyed at the peninsula of Athos. Darius was clearly not satisfied with the achievements of Mardonius during this first expedition as he was not part of the next expedition against Hellas. However, Mardonius was a capable leader who knew what he was doing. Xerxes noticed this and restored his position in the Persian command. The early departure of Xerxes was even a good thing for the Persians as Mardonius was a much better commander than Xerxes ever was.

Pausanias was in command of the Greek combined forces. The Spartan king Leonidas left a young son, Pleistarchos, behind after his heroic death at Thermopylae. Sparta had a very peculiar form of government and the constitution said that there should be two kings to prevent that one of them would abuse his power. In reality one of the kings was much more important than the other one. Pleistarchos would become this important king, but he was much too young so a regent was installed for the time being. This man was Pausanias, a cousin of the hero Leonidas. Just like Leonidas was Pausanias a capable leader who had knowledge of tactics, and who knew how to correctly value the weaknesses of his army and those of the hostile army. Unfortunately did he not have the same goals as Leonidas as history will learn us.

Phase one: skirmish in the foothills.

The Battle at Plataea, 479 B.C.
Persians	Greeks
Hoplits
38000	40500
Peltasts
None	70000
Cavalry
10000	None

Both parties had chosen their positions very well. Mardonius had chosen the battlefield at Plataea, south of Thebes, because the plains at the south and west of his camp are very suitable for his cavalry. Like always did the Persians have a large number of horsemen, while the Greek did not have any, so Mardonius' strategy was build around this type of unit. Pausanius realized this, and the danger of the fast Persian cavalry, so he installed himself in the foothills south of the Persians where their cavalry could not do much damage.

None of the parties really felt like leaving their position in order to attack the enemy, so both of them waited. Of course neither the Greeks nor the Persians could wait forever. The gigantic Persian army was bound to get problems with their provisions at some stage now their fleet had retreated. The Greeks had the same problem, but they had it right from the start of the battle. Pausanias remained cool however and kept his army in the foothills of the mountain Cithaeron. It is Mardonius who made the first attack.

The Persian cavalry left their fortified encampment and galloped through the plains, crossed the river Asopos, and attacked the Greeks in the foothills. Mardonius knew that this was a dangerous move, but he hoped to lure down into the plains where the remainder of his army could finish the job. The Greeks however were prepared, and determined to maintain their strong position. The Persian cavalry did not manage to break the Greek formations, and got into serious problems. Mardonius is wise enough not to use his main force to help the cavalry, and ends his attack. When the Persians are back in their camp they realize that they have lost many brave men, including their commander. Mardonius came to the conclusion that his cavalry could not be used for a charge as long as the Greeks stayed in the foothills, but he could still use them to cut the Greeks off from their provisions.

Phase two: entering the plains.

The water reserves of the Greeks decrease with every day and Pausanias is forced to change his position. He moves his army into the plains, and marches around Plataea where he is much closer to the Asopos ridge where there is plenty of water. He knows that he is much more vulnerable now he is in the plains, but at least a small row of hills between him and the Persians prevents a frontal attack of the Persian cavalry. Mardonius still does not attack as he hopes that the lack of food will weaken the Greeks some more, especially after his cavalry had stopped a Greek convoy of 500 wagons. His supplies on the other hand are also decreasing because the Greeks managed to cut off his supplies with guerilla activities.

The next three days several skirmishes took place between the Greeks and the Persian cavalry. None of these small conflicts was won by a party, but the Persians gained a small victory: they managed to poison the water supplies of the Greeks. Pausanias waited for ten more days but after that he had no longer a choice, the Greeks had almost ran out of supplies. Luckily for the Greeks remained Pausanias remarkably cool and did he refuse to attack the Persians. Such an attack on the Persian fortifications would have been disastrous for the Greeks, but the alternative was certainly not without any danger either. He wanted to retire to a position which was closer to his old position. There would be enough water at this new position, it would give him more protection from the mountains, and the Greek convoys no longer would need to cross the plains in order to reach the Greek army.

At night Pausanias starts this maneuver which he makes look as if they are fleeing. He sent his inexperienced troops towards the new position while the more experienced fighters stayed behind to prevent a possible Persian attack on the retreating forces. Unfortunately lost the different Greek units contact because of the difficulties and the confusion of this maneuver at night. The inexperienced troops get lost and most of them form their camp in front of the city walls of Plataea. At dawn the experienced Greek left and right wing retreat towards Plataea to reunite with the other fighters.

Phase three: Mardonius attacks.

Mardonius sees that the Greek army is split up, and he got the impression that his enemy was retreating because of political problems. His advisors had told him that it was definitely not unlikely that the Greek Poleis would argue about the tactics after a while, and that they would retreat to their own cities. They also knew that it was not really in the Greek nature to cooperate with other cities. Mardonius had even invested a lot of diplomacy and conspiracy in the hope to achieve this goal. However, the Greek disorganization had a tactical nature, and when the Persian army attacked they were surprised by the Greek resistance.

The Athenians who had formed the left wing of the army were still in the plains at the moment of the attack, and they were pushed back by the Persian cavalry. The inexperienced troops who were already at Plataea noticed this and moved forwards to help their Athenian friends. Mardonius on his turn attacked the Athenians and the fresh troops with a Boeotian phalanx, who had collaborated with the Persians.

At the right wing the Greeks were also in a difficult position as the Spartan phalanx was attacked by Mardonius himself with his cavalry and Persian foot soldiers. The Spartans manage to stop the Persian attack as they could focus on the Persian foot soldiers as they were already in the foothills. The Corinthian hoplites, and their Peloponessian allies, quickly left the protection of the city walls of Plataea and stormed forwards towards the Spartans. Mardonius commanded his troops to shoot all their arrows at the enemy, and the Greeks are forced to take cover behind their shields.

This was the moment Pausanias had been waiting for. The Thegians, followed by the Spartans, charged forward and managed to push their way out of the mess of this bloody battle towards complete victory. The Persian left wing is split up after the Spartans had killed Mardonius, and the Persian battle-array starts to fall apart. The Persian center, under the leadership of Artabazos moves forward but they can only conclude that their army is collapsing. He orders to blow the horn for the retreat, and crosses the Asopos ridge while he is being pursued by the Spartans. At the same time the Athenians manage to defeat the Boeotians with the help of the reinforcements.

The Spartans did not have the equipment to attack a fortress but after they had destroyed the Persian left wing they were so convinced of their own invincibility that they attacked the Persian fortress nevertheless. The rest of the Greek army had caught up with the Spartans, and joined in on the attack on the Persian encampment. The fortress got destroyed and only a few Persians managed to get away. The victory was complete.

The results of the battle.

Another, and even bigger, Persian army in Hellas had refused to acknowledge the leadership of Mardonius and was already retreating towards the Hellespont at the time of the battle. The Greeks took Thebe, which was the leader of the collaboration of Boeotia with the Persians, after a short siege and killed all political leaders. A large part of the Persian treasures, which they had hoped to use to solve the problems with their provision, fell in the hands of the Greeks thanks to this victory.

On the same day the Greek fleet had quickly crossed the Aegean and landed on the Ionian coast at Mycale. They routed the Persians who opposed them, and destroyed the remains of the Persian fleet. This way the Aegean was in the hands of the Greeks again, and the Ionian Greeks who were forced to serve in the Persian army choose the side of the Greeks and helped them during the last battles. Ironically enough an Ionian revolt had formed the start and the end of the Persian wars..

Pausanias attempted to establish Spartan power over Hellas after the battle at Plataea, and even collaborated with his former enemies, the Persians, in an attempt to realize his dream. The other Greeks found out about this conspiracy and Pausanias was killed in an unhonourable way.

Next Tuesday, continuation of Ancient Greek Military:

Mercenaries
Struggle for Hegemony

On this Day In history

Birthdates which occurred on December 09:
1392 Peter Prince/Regent of Portugal/writer (Virtuosa benfeitoria)
1561 Edwin Sandys, a founder of Virginia colony
1569 Martinus de Porres, Peru, saint (patron of social justice)
1594 Gustavus II Adolphus, king who made Sweden a major power (1611-32)
1608 John Milton, London, poet/puritan (Paradise Lost)
1717 Johann J Winckelmann, German archaeologist (History of Ancient Art)
1742 Carl W Scheele, Swedish pharmacist/chemist (lemon acid)
1848 Joel Chandler Harris, US journalist (created Uncle Remus stories)
1886 Clarence Birdseye, frozen vegatable king (Birdseye)
1898 Emmett Kelly (clown: Ringling Bros.: hobo, Weary Willie)
1899 Jean de Brunhoff, France, children's book author (Babar the Elephant)
1902 Margaret Hamilton, Cleveland OH, actress (Wicked Witch-Wizard of Oz)
1905 Dalton Trumbo US, writer/film director (Johnny Got His Gun)(blacklisted)
1909 Douglas Fairbanks Jr, NYC, actor (Ghost Story)
1911 Lee J. Cobb (actor: On the Waterfront, Twelve Angry Men, Death of a Salesman, Exodus, The Virginian)
1912 Tip O'Neil (Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives)
1915 Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Jarotschin Germ, soprano (Der Rosenkavalier)
1916 Kirk Douglas (Isidore Demsky/Issur Danielovitch) (actor: Young Man with a Horn, Spartacus; father of actor, Mike Douglas)
1922 Redd Foxx (John Elroy Sanford) (comedian: Sanford & Son)
1928 Dick Van Patten (actor: Eight is Enough)
1929 John Cassavetes (actor: Shadows)
1930 Buck Henry, NYC, screenwriter/comedian (SNL, Get Smart)
1933 Orville Moody (golf champion: U.S. Open [1969])
1934 [Amos] Junior Wells Memphis TN, blues singer/harp player
1934 Al Kaline Baltimore MD, baseball outfielder (Detroit Tigers)
1934 Judi Dench, York England, actress (Henry V, Wetherby)
1938 David Houston (Grammy Award-winning singer: Almost Persuaded [1966]; Mountain of Love)
1941 Beau (Lloyd III) Bridges (director, actor: The Fabulous Baker Boys; son of actor, Lloyd Bridges, brother of actor, Jeff Bridges)
1942 Dick Butkus (Pro Football Hall of Famer: Chicago Bears: NFL Defensive Player of the Year [1969, 1970])
1943 Rick Danko Canada, rocker (The Band, Stage Fright)
1949 Tom Kite (golf champion: U.S. Open [1992])
1953 John Malkovich, Christopher Ill, actor/director (Killing Fields)
1957 Donny Osmond (singer: Go Away Little Girl, Puppy Love; TV host: Donny and Marie)
2340 Worf Klingon warrior

Deaths which occurred on December 09:
1165 Malcom IV, king of Scotland (1153-65), dies at 24
1292 Sa'di, great Persian poet (Orchard, Rose Garden), dies
1565 Pius IV, [Gianangelo de' Medici], Italian Pope (1559-65), dies at 66
1641 Anthonie "Antoon" van Dyck, Flemish painter, dies at 42
1767 Benedetto Alfieri, Italian architect (San Giovanni Battista), dies
1770 Gottlieb Theophil Muffat, composer, dies at 80
1971 Ralph J Bunche, UN delegate/Nobel Prize winner, dies at 67 in NYC
1979 Fulton J Sheen, archbishop/religious broadcaster, dies in NYC at 84
1982 Leon Jaworski, special prosecutor (Watergate), dies at 77
1994 Kim II Sung President of North Korea (1945-94), dies at 82
1995 Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan (aviator), dies
1996 Mary Douglas Nichol Leakey, archaeologist/anthropologist, dies at 83

Reported: MISSING in ACTION
1967 LIRA JOSE T.
1968 FORD EDWARD---BIRMINGHAM AL.
1968 MINOR CARROLL WILLIAM---GREENVILLE SC.
1968 SHIMEK SAMUEL D.---UNIONTOWN PA
1972 ACOSTA HECTOR M.---SAN ANTONIO TX.
[03/29/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1972 WILLIAMS BILLIE J.---MALDEN MO.
[REMAINS RETURNED I.D. 12/20/90]

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
0536 Byzantines Libya occupies Rome on Ostrogoten
0656 Battle of Kameel: Kalief Al ibn Abu Talib beats rebellion
1212 Frederik II crowns himself Roman Catholic king
1315 Swiss Woudsteden renews Eternal Covenant (Oath Society)
1425 Pope Martinus V forms University of Leuven
1570 Geuzen under Herman de Ruyter occupies Loevestein
1625 Netherlands & England sign military treaty
1640 Settler Hugh Bewitt banished from Massachusetts colony when he declares himself to be free of original sin
1658 Dutch troops occupy harbor city Quilon (Coilan) India
1688 King James II's wife & son flee England for France
1738 Jews are expelled from Breslau Silesia
1747 England & Netherlands sign military treaty
1762 British parliament accept Treaty of Paris
1783 1st execution at English Newgate-jail
1793 Noah Webster establishes New York's 1st daily newspaper, American Minerva
1805 Comet 3D/1805 V1 (Biela) approaches within 0.0366 astronomical units (AUs) of Earth
1824 Battle of Ayacucho (Candorcangui), Peru defeats Spain
1851 1st Young Men's Christian Association in North America (Montréal)
1854 Lord Tennyson's poem, "Charge of the Light Brigade" published
1861 Battle of Bird Creek, Indian Terr (High Shoal, Chusto-Talasah)
1868 1st British government of Gladstone forms
1869 Noble Order of Knights of Labor founded, Philadelphia
1878 Joseph Pulitzer buys St Louis Dispatch for $2,500
1883 New Brunswick adopts Eastern Standard Time (until 1902)
1884 Levant Richardson patents ball-bearing skate
1889 President Harrison visits opening of Chicago Auditorium
1894 Roman Catholics win Parliamentary election in Belgium
1900 Dutch President Paul Kruger & Queen Wilhelmina have a triumphant procession
1902 American League announces purchase of grounds for a stadium in New York
1903 Norwegian parliament vote unanimiously for female suffrage
1905 French Assembly National votes for separation of church & state
1905 Richard Strauss' opera "Salome" premieres in Dresden
1906 New York American reports Belgian King Leopold II bribed US Senate commission on the Congo
1907 1st Christmas Seals sold (Wilmington DE post office)
1907 Gustav Mahler departs Vienna
1909 1st US monoplane flown (Henry W Walden, Long Island NY)
1910 French troops occupy Morrocan harbor city Agadir
1913 John K Tener becomes president of baseball's National League
1913 Heavyweight Jack Johnson-Jim Johnson fight to no decision in Paris
1917 British forces under General Allenby capture Jerusalem
1918 French troops occupies Mainz
1922 Gabriel Narutowicz elected Polish President
1924 Dutch & Hungary trade treaty signed
1924 Michael Hainisch re-elected Austrian President
1925 Pro football a hit in NYC; Grange & Bears beat Giants before 73,000
1925 American League extends Ban Johnson's contract to 1935 & raise to $40,000
1926 USGA legalizes steel shaft golf clubs
1931 Spain becomes a republic
1931 Baseball cuts squad from 25 to 23 players & National League continues to prohibit uniform numbers
1931 Benn W Levy's "Springtime for Henry" premieres in New York NY
1931 Japanese army attacks Chinese province of Jehol
1933 Romania disallows fascist Iron Guard
1934 New York Giants defeat Chicago Bears 30-13 for NFL championship
1936 American League OKs night baseball for St Louis
1939 Russian air raid on Helsinki
1940 Illegal Jewish immigrants to Haifa are deported to Mauritius
1940 British assault on Banghazi Libya
1940 British troops 1st major offensive in North Africa (Libya) during WWII
1941 1st US WWII bombing mission in the Far East, Luzon, Philippines
1941 300 Montgomery, San Francisco opens as new Bank of America HQ
1941 China declares war on Japan, Germany & Italy
1941 Citizen Register reports "Hostile planes reported nearing Westchester"
1941 Hitler orders US ships torpedoed
1948 UN General Assembly unanimously approves Convention on Genocide
1949 NFL merges Cleveland Browns, San Francisco '49ers & Baltimore Colts from AAFC
1949 Dutch 2nd Chamber accept Indonesian sovereignty
1951 Voters approve merger of 3 states to form Baden-Württemberg, West Germany
1953 General Electric announces all Communist employees will be fired
1953 Montréal Canadiens (106) & Toronto Maple Leafs (98) get 204 penalty minutes
1954 Dmitri Shostakovich appointed honored guest of Swedish Royal Music Academy
1957 1st Japanese ambassador to Israel
1958 Robert H W Welch Jr & 11 other men meet in Indianapolis to form the anti-Communist John Birch Society
1960 1st broadcast of "Coronation Street" on British ITV
1961 SS Colonel Adolf Eichmann found guilty of war crimes in Israel
1961 Tanganyika gains independence from Britain takes name Tanzania
1961 Wilt Chamberlain of NBA Philadelphia Warriors scores 67 points vs New York
1962 Tanganyika becomes a republic within the British Commonwealth
1963 Frank Sinatra Jr is kidnapped
1963 Zanzibar gains independence from Britain
1965 Nikolai Podgorny replaces Anastas Mikoyan as President of Presidium
1965 "A Charlie Brown Christmas" premieres
1965 Frank Robinson is traded from Cincinnati to the Orioles
1967 Jim Morrison, arrested on stage for disturbing the peace
1967 Lyndon Johnson's daughter Lynda marries in the White House
1967 Nicolae Ceausescu becomes President (dictator) of Romania
1968 Doug Engelbart demonstrates first computer mouse at Stanford
1968 KRNE TV channel 12 in Merriman NE (PBS) begins broadcasting
1970 Dutch Antilles: Government of Petronia falls
1971 Lewis F Powell Jr appointed to the Supreme Court
1973 Bruno Sammartino beats Stan Stasiak in New York, to become WWF champion
1973 St Louis Cardinal Jim Bakken kicks 6 field goals vs Atlanta Falcons
1973 Sunningdale Agreement in Northern Ireland
1974 Johnson Grigsby freed after 66 years in jail
1974 Dow Jones index hits 570.01
1974 Jack Brisco beats Giant Baba in Tokyo, to become NWA wrestling champion
1975 President Gerald Ford signs $2.3 Billion loan-authorization for NYC
1975 Jelena Bonner receives Andrei Sacharov's Nobel Prize
1978 1st game of the Women's Pro Basketball League (WBL), Chicago Hustle vs Milwaukee Does
1978 Pioneer Venus 2 drops 5 probes into atmosphere of Venus
1979 Murle Breer/Dave Eichelberger win LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic
1980 61ºF in Boston at 1 AM
1981 Porn star John Holmes charged with Laurel Canyon murders
1983 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1984 6 day hijack of Kuwaiti jet ends
1984 59th Australian Women's Tennis: Chris Evert beats H Sukova (67 61 63)
1984 Great Britain performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1984 Iranian commandos end capture of Kuwaiti plane
1984 Los Angeles Ram Eric Dickerson rushes 215 yards for season record 2,003 yards
1985 Phoenix AZ, gets 3" of snow
1985 74th Australian Men's Tennis: Stefan Edberg beats Mats Wilander (64 63 63)
1985 Jerry Rice begins NFL streak of 100+ consecutive game receptions
1987 Larry Bird, ends streak of 59 consecutive free throws
1987 Palestine uprising begin in Israeli-occupied West Bank
1988 New York Yankees sign 12-year television contract with Madison Square Garden for $500 million
1989 "Les Miserables" opens at Princess Theatre, Melbourne Australia
1990 Lech Walesa wins presidential election in Poland
1990 NFL New York Giant Otis Anderson becomes 8th to rush for 10,000th yard
1990 Houston scores most points against Cleveland, Oilers 58, Browns 14
1991 2nd Billboard Music Awards
1992 Prince Charles & Princess Diana separation announced by British PM, John Major
1992 3rd Billboard Music Awards
1992 Cincinnati Red owner Marge Schott apologizes for racist remarks
1992 Operation Restore Hope - US Marines land in Somalia
1993 Ivory Coast Premier Ouattara resigns
1994 5 meter meteor 1994 XM1 passes within 100,000 km of Earth
1994 Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders resigns after masturbation comments
1995 61st Heisman Trophy Award: Eddie George, Ohio State (RB)

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Tanzania : Independence Day/Republic Day (1961)
World : Human Rights Week (Day 3)
Read A New Book Month

Religious Observances
Christian : Commemoration of the Conception of Anne, mother of Mary
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Peter Fourier, French priest

Religious History
1840 Scottish missionary explorer David Livingstone, 27, set sail on his first journey to Africa. (He had been accepted to serve under the London Missionary Society two years earlier.)
1863 Birth of G. Campbell Morgan, English congregational clergyman and Bible expositor. Morgan authored more than 60 Bible commentaries and books of sermons many still be in print.
1870 The Society of Biblical Archaeology was founded in London "for the investigation of the archaeology, history, arts, and chronology of ancient and modern...biblical lands...."
1905 An Act for the Separation of Church and State became law in France, rescinding Napoleon's Concordat of 1801. The new law guaranteed freedom of conscience, but also severed all religious groups from any further economic support by the national government.
1973 "Marshall Efron's Illustrated, Simplified and Painless Sunday School" first aired over CBS television. This religious series was broadcast on Sunday mornings until August 1977.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

Thought for the day :
"Adversity does teach who your real friends are."

Question of the day...
What is the speed of dark?

Murhys Law of the day...(Dirksen's Three Laws of Politics)
1. Get elected.
2. Get re-elected.
3. Don't get mad -- get even

Astounding fact #986,873...
A seven letter word in the English language that contains ten words without rearranging any of its letters, "therein": the, there, he, in, rein, her, here, here, ere, therein, herein.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.